Nutt insists he’s still coach at Ole Miss

OXFORD – Reports of Houston Nutt’s demise, apparently, were greatly premature.
At his regular Sunday afternoon teleconference, Nutt said his status as Ole Miss football coach had not changed since the Rebels’ 30-13 loss to Kentucky on Saturday, a matchup that featured two SEC teams that were winless against the conference this fall.
Nutt said he had not been in meetings with his superiors regarding his employment and that no such meetings were scheduled.
Sunday was a regular practice day for the Rebels, albeit a light one devoted mostly to weights, video study and correcting mistakes from the previous day’s game. Today is the team’s regularly scheduled off day.
The loss at Kentucky stretched the Rebels’ school-record SEC losing streak to 12 games. Ole Miss has not beaten a conference foe since winning 42-35 against Kentucky here last year.
At 2-7 overall, 0-6 in the SEC, Ole Miss faces the prospect of going 0-8 in the league for the second time since 2007, the final season under former coach Ed Orgeron.
In his first two seasons at Ole Miss, Nutt went 18-8, 9-7 in the SEC, and won two Cotton Bowls. Since defeating Oklahoma State in Dallas to cap the 2009 season, Nutt is 6-15 overall, 1-13 in SEC play.
Focused on Bulldogs
The SEC losing streak will not extend this weekend. It’s homecoming at Ole Miss, and the Rebels will face Louisiana Tech in a 6:30 p.m. start.
In his postgame session beneath the stands at Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium, Nutt addressed his job status by saying, “That’s not for me to decide.”
Sunday he said he was unclear if a day that did not involve meetings with the administration meant his situation was more secure than many people seemed to believe.
“I don’t know. I’m just thinking about one thing, Louisiana Tech.”
He said he would address the rumors with his players at their workout later Sunday.
“I’ve gotten a couple of texts, so I guess they’re hearing what you’re hearing,” Nutt said. “Nobody’s met, nobody’s called. We’ll put all those to rest here in about an hour.”
parrish.alford@journalinc.com